Supermarket worker praised for kind act towards teen with autism

A young supermarket employee has been praised for allowing a customer with autism to help him stock shelves in a heartwarming video that has since gone viral on Facebook.

Jordan Taylor, a 20-year-old who works at Rouses Market in the US state of Louisiana, was stocking the store’s refrigerators when he noticed Jack Ryan, a 17-year-old with autism, watching him work.

Jack’s father, Sid Edwards, said that his son was so engrossed in Mr Taylor’s work that he initially thought he wanted orange juice. However, even after grabbing a bottle of juice, Jack was still watching Mr Taylor work. That’s when the staffer asked if the teen wanted to help.

For half an hour, Mr Taylor worked patiently alongside Jack, stocking the refrigerator together.

Mr Edwards, who took the video, shared it with his daughter, who posted it on Facebook.

“Talk about a stand up young man!!!!” Delaney Edwards Alwosaibi wrote.

“We all know autism makes going out difficult, and sometimes grocery stores can be a challenge. … [Mr Taylor] could have ignored him. He could have made an excuse and said he couldn’t allow him to help. Instead, he let him have his moment and in turn gave my family a moment we will never forget.

“It might seem like nothing to others, but as you can hear my dad say in the video, ‘I’m watching a miracle right now.'”

A humble Mr Taylor told WAFB he “was just happy that I could make someone else happy and make their day”.

After the video started to gain attention, Ms Alwosaibi set up a GoFundMe page to help send Mr Taylor to college. According to the page, he loves maths and hopes to become a teacher someday.

In just one day, the crowdfunding page has raised a staggering $91,000.

A second page has since been set up for Jack, to help his family with the costs of ongoing care for Jack and his older brother Chase, who is also autistic.